This invention relates to helicopter rotors and, more particularly, to a helicopter rotor blade mounting assembly.
Rotor assemblies used in rotary-wing aircrafts include a rotor hub which mechanically couples a drive shaft to a plurality of rotor blades. Some of these assemblies include a flexible structural member, also referred to as a “flexbeam” for connecting the rotor blade to the rotor hub. A wear wrap is disposed around a central portion of the flexbeam to absorb vibration. During manufacturing of a flexbeam, a wear wrap is positioned and formed around the flexbeam through a complex multistep process; therefore when an aircraft is initially assembled, the flexbeams installed in a rotor assembly include a wear wrap that was fabricated at the factory.
Maintenance of the aircraft requires that these wear wraps be removed and replaced over time. Replacing a wear wrap in the field is difficult because of its complex manufacturing process and rigid dimensional requirements. FIG. 1 illustrates the current process mechanics use to replace a wear wrap in the field. Individual pieces of wear wrap material are added to each surface of the flexbeam separately. Because the wear wrap material must fit within a restricted dimensional envelope, mechanics spend a significant amount of time ensuring that each piece on each side of the flexbeam is the appropriate size and in the correct position.